Watch any movie that takes place in high school from the early 2000s and you’re almost guaranteed to be greeted with a montage of shots of students walking around the school with pop-punk playing in the background.
For some reason, pop-punk gained extreme popularity in the late 1990s and early to mid-2000s.
Songs like “Ocean Avenue” by Yellowcard and “The Great Escape” by Boys Like Girls each received platinum status by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Once Nirvana’s grunge wave died down, bands like Blink-182, Sum 41 and Yellowcard took the stage for a while.
Soon, they began pumping out songs about high school and how their parents don’t understand them.
The genre eventually faded out of popularity and other forms of guitar music eventually took over, like indie rock.
During its peak, it seemed like a lot of fun, but looking back through the retrospective lens, people began to ask themselves, “What the fuck was that?”
For starters, to categorize the aforementioned artists as “punk” is awfully liberal.
In the decades preceding, punk bands were releasing their anger on stage while talking about issues like corruption in politics, addiction and social stigmas that plagued the generation they were preaching to.
Pop-punk bands were concerned about if the girl they were into had the same feelings, or about sneaking out of their parents’ house to go drink a beer in their school parking lot.
This is not to say that these aren’t genuine thoughts that run through a high schooler’s mind.
However, creating an entire genre around these ideas feels incredibly weak and limiting to artistic expression.
What’s respectable about this genre is that it doesn’t take itself seriously whatsoever.
The members of pop-punk bands frequently say and do ridiculous things, like running around naked in the case of Jack Barakat, giving the entire genre a comedic tone.
The most bothersome part of this genre, however, is that the same bands that started decades ago, are still writing and recording new music that revolve around the same themes it always has.
It’s very strange for someone in their 30s to go into a recording studio and sing about teen angst when they go home afterward to raise their teenage children.
This goes back to the idea that the genre itself is very limiting.
It’s pleasant to see some sort of growth in someone’s art, and pop-punk bands really aren’t bringing that to the table.
Bands like Arctic Monkeys started out when the members were relatively young, and their lyrics illustrated that with stories about drinking and going to parties.
However, as their members matured, so did their music and their lyrics.
They allowed themselves to venture outside their comfort zone and find success.
Blink-182 still sounds like they’re in high school even though it has been 27 years since their formation.
While pop-punk definitely has its place in the history of guitar music, it’s safe to assume that it will go somewhat overlooked in the future.
These songs haven’t aged well and they already sound dated.
But if I ever want to feel like I’m in high school again, I’ll be sure to play Dear Maria, Count Me In.